we have yet to find chinese takeout that we’re loving here, so i’ve been utilizing this recipe from gimme some oven pretty heavily and it’s especially great while asparagus is in season.

when cooking i tend to flip flop between this olive oil and the bottle pictured below from trader joe’s. i use the latter for this recipe, and it’s great for a few reasons: 1) you get this nice, massive bottle for around $6, 2) it has a great, kind of thin texture that i think makes it really versatile and somewhat in the same vein, 3) the taste of this oil is really mild, so you can use it in dishes such as this one where when you take a bite of the final product you don’t get that “italian” aftertaste. but you’re welcome to use whatever evoo floats your boat.

in a small bowl, stir together soy sauce and honey. season the cut chicken pieces liberally with salt and pepper and add to the bowl with the honey-soy mixture. stir to coat the chicken in the marinade, and stick in the fridge until ready to use.

at this point, if i’m serving rice with the stir fry, i like to get it started. rinse your cup of rice if needed, and bring the 2 cups of water to a boil. add salt and 1 tablespoon evoo to the water, and then the rice. stir together, then turn heat down and simmer, covered for 20 minutes until tender.

meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon evoo in a large skillet over medium heat. once hot, add the asparagus pieces and saute for 5 minutes, until tender. remove from the pan and set aside. up the heat to medium-high and add the chicken and marinade, sauteing until nearly cooked through. add the garlic, and cook 2 minutes more, stirring to prevent the garlic or residual marinade from burning. in the last minute or two, stir in last teaspoon of evoo, and the cooked asparagus pieces. once the chicken is fully cooked, remove the pan from the heat.

when your rice is ready, stir 1 tablespoon of butter into the hot rice (optional), then plate. top with your chicken and asparagus stir fry and garnish with sesame seeds if desired.